Well Ordinance Update

Permit Sonoma will bring a revised ordinance to the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors for consideration at 10:30 a.m. on April 4, 2023. Materials are available below. 

To comply with a 2018 decision by the state Court of Appeal, the county will evaluate and require mitigation of impacts of well permits on public trust resources in navigable waterways, such as the Russian River, along with the habitat and wildlife they support, including the endangered Coho salmon. 

On October 4, 2022, the Board of Supervisors directed the Permit Sonoma to convene a Technical Advisory Committee to advise on proposed amendments to Chapter 25B, the County’s Well Construction Ordinance. Further, the Board adopted a temporary moratorium until April 4, 2023, on the processing and approval of applications for water supply well permits submitted on or after October 4, 2022, except for applications for emergency wells. The moratorium was to allow time for the Permit Sonoma to convene a Technical Advisory Committee to advise changes to Chapter 25B. 

Permit Sonoma assembled both a Policy Working Group and a Technical Working Group to aid in development of a revised ordinance. The groups assisted in the development of a new framework for evaluation of environmental impacts during the review of permit applications for drilling new or replacement groundwater wells. Policy working group and joint working group meetings were open to the public. Nine public meeting were conducted between November 17, 2022 and March 1, 2023. Meeting dates and materials are available in the table at the bottom of this page. 

The revised ordinance defines an area referred to as the “Public Trust Review Area” where available information indicates that groundwater pumping has moderate or high potential of impacting public trust resources, including habitat for endangered and threatened salmonids. Within this area, additional review of well permit applications, and water conservation requirements will be recommended. Please visit the Well Ordinance Update - Online Viewer to see the proposed Public Trust Review Area.  

The revised ordinance also includes requirements for well meter installation and water use reporting of a subset of new wells. The draft proposal exempts residential wells from meter and water level reporting requirements. In addition, no metering or reporting is proposed for existing wells. 

The revised ordinance will be brought to the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors for consideration on April 4, 2023.  Documents are posted below. 

Please direct public comments to:  PermitSonoma-Wells-PublicInput@sonoma-county.org 

April 4, 2023 – Board of Supervisors Hearing »

Well Ordinance Update - Online Viewer »

Documents in PDF format:

• Well Ordinance Summary
• PowerPoint Presentation
• Public Comments
• Attachment A Board Resolution
• Attachment B Ordinance without Exhibit A
• Attachment C Exhibit A to Ordinance Stricken
• Attachment D Ordinance with Exhibit A Clean
• Attachment E Urgency Ordinance Extending Temporary Moratorium
• Attachment G Director Working Group Final Report
• Attachment H Public Trust Review Area Delineation Report
• Attachment I List of Technical References

Technical and Policy Working Groups

Policy Working Group

The Policy Working Group members represent diverse stakeholder interests and will make policy recommendations based on input from stakeholders and the Technical Working Group. The Policy Working Group is comprised of:

Technical Working Group

The Technical Working Group will develop and assess policy recommendations using scientifically accepted theory, methods, and practices.

Meetings

Separate meetings of the Technical Working Group and Policy Working Group will take place on alternating weeks through February or March 2023. Policy working group meetings will be held virtually and are open to the public. Zoom links are provided for each meeting in the table below

Past Meetings and Documents

Past Meeting Documents

October 4 – Board of Supervisors Hearing
Please direct public comments to:  PermitSonoma-Wells-PublicInput@sonoma-county.org

• Attachment B - Revised Ex A to Ordinance Amending Chapter 25B - Redlined (PDF 335 kB)
• Well Ordinance Update online GIS map

September 22, 2022 – Well Ordinance Update Informational Town Hall
Permit Sonoma staff present information and answer questions on the proposed changes to Sonoma County's Well Ordinance slated to go before the Board of Supervisors on October 4, 2022.

• Video recording of the Informational Town Hall is available on YouTube.
• Informational Town Hall PowerPoint (PDF 441 kB)